Hairpin

//ˈhɛɚ.pɪn// noun

noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A pin or fastener for the hair.
  2. 2
    a double pronged pin used to hold women's hair in place wordnet
  3. 3
    A kind of ribozyme; hairpin ribozyme.
  4. 4
    A very tight bend in a road; a hairpin bend. attributive

    "The variety of angles in the course, from slow bends to hairpins, will both test your skill as a driver and allow you the opportunity to pass other carts."

  5. 5
    An elongated horizontal v-shaped sign placed underneath a staff to indicate a crescendo or decrescendo.

Synonyms

All synonyms
aberrancyaberrationbendbendybiasbranching off

Example

More examples

"She unlocked the car door by means of a hairpin."

Etymology

From hair + pin, 1788 (as hair pin). Adjective sense 1906 in hairpin turn etc.

Related phrases

Sherman's hairpinhairpin bendhairpin curvehairpin transferhairpin turnfor hairpin for

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.